New Crystal Era – River Cruising Debut

New Crystal Era – River Cruising Debut

The expansive growth of Crystal Cruises continues as it evolves into becoming a complete luxury brand. New ship orders are underway, and the line is entering new markets. The July 13 debut of the Crystal Mozart launches the new Crystal River Cruises brand as she embarks on the Danube River.

Crystal Mozart Set to Sail

The former MS Mozart is currently undergoing a rebuild and transformation into the Crystal Mozart. Her exterior will remain mostly unchanged, but she will have the Crystal insignia with its iconic seahorse logo and signature turquoise bands. The interiors and amenities will provide the superior standard of luxury that Crystal is renowned for.

Photo Courtesy of Crystal Cruises

Spaces include elegant public venues and luxurious private accommodations, along with a contemporary design. The fact that the former MS Mozart is a bit wider than standard river cruise ships provides the extra space needed to add more amenities. She’ll be accommodating 158 guests with 91 staff members onboard.

Multiple Dining Venues

Crystal is building five dining venues on the Crystal Mozart for guests to enjoy. The standard on other river cruise ships is one or two. At Waterside, the main indoor and outdoor dining room, guests enjoy breakfast, lunch buffets and dinner service. Blue, which is similar to Tastes on the Crystal Serenity, is an aft indoor dining venue and serves international comfort food. The Palm Court, similar to the Palm Court on the Crystal Symphony, offers cocktails and tea along with live entertainment and dancing. The Pantry is a self-service beverage and wine bar where guests can grab quick snacks. And the Bistro Mozart provides lite cuisine, freshly baked pastries, snacks, fruit, espresso, coffee and tea throughout the day. Finally the Vintage Room, also on Crystal’s other seagoing vessels, is the intimate dining room that hosts about a dozen guests for special events and meals.

Photo Courtesy of Crystal Cruises

More Onboard Details

The Crystal Life Spa has salon and fitness facilities that include an indoor pool, two treatment centers, and separate steam and sauna rooms for men and women. The spa is the first one operated in-house by Crystal.

As far as accommodations, all suites have king-size beds, marble bathrooms, 40-inch flat-screen televisions and Nespresso machines. Suite guests will enjoy Crystal’s acclaimed butler service. The Crystal Mozart has 219-square-foot window suites; the deluxe suites with a French balcony are also 219 square feet. The penthouse suites are 330 square feet, and there’s also an 883-square-foot, two- bedroom Crystal Suite. The one-bedroom Penthouses as well as the Crystal Suite feature walk-in closets, French balconies, oversized bathtubs and separate showers.

Photo Courtesy of Crystal Cruises

The Crystal Mozart has four passenger decks. These include Harmony, which is a reference to Crystal’s first ocean ship, plus Seahorse, Crystal and Vista. And these decks, except for the Vista top deck, will have the service of a newly installed elevator. The Vista Deck has a pop-up bar area with a retractable movie screen and rooftop garden.

Two custom tender boats will be available for guests so they can experience a more intimate exploration of Europe’s waterways.

Six New Luxury Crystal River Yachts

The growth of Crystal River Cruises continues with the building of six new river yachts. These will be deployed in Europe. The first four newbuilds include the Crystal Mahler, Crystal Debussy, Crystal Ravel and Crystal Bach, which will start cruising in 2017. The Crystal Mahler and Crystal Bach will accommodate 110 guests, the Crystal Ravel and Crystal Debussy 84 guests. Two other luxury river yachts are set to debut in 2018 and 2019.

More on Crystal Cruises and Brand Expansion

Crystal Cruises has earned more “World’s Best” accolades than any other cruise line, resort or hotel in history, and is the “World’s Most Awarded Luxury Cruise Line.” ™ Thanks to its parent company, Genting Hong Kong (GHK) and leadership, Crystal Cruises has been going through a major brand expansion, which includes three new classes of cruising. The first was the debut of Crystal Yacht Cruises in December 2015. Crystal River Cruises begins July 2016, and Crystal Exclusive Class Ocean Cruises is set to launch in fall of 2019. Crystal is adding to Crystal Yacht Cruises with its first purpose-built Polar Class luxury megayacht, the Crystal Endeavor. To be delivered in August 2018 and accommodating just 200 guests, the Crystal Endeavor will sail to Antarctica and the Arctic Circle besides warm-weather destinations.

In April 2016, Crystal launched Crystal Luxury Air, and Crystal Air Cruises in 2017 will enhance its position as a complete luxury brand.

These new classes of cruising, plus the introduction of river cruising, provide groups with more choices and options to consider.

Contributor: Cindy Bertram

Cindy has 15+ years of cruise expertise in marketing, content creation, sales and training as well as areas of social media. Her MBA from Loyola University Chicago complements her high creative edge and liberal arts BA. She can be reached at cindy@ptmgroups.com